National Targeting Center keeps terrorism at bay

Like modern day archeologists the personnel at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center (NTC) sift through information looking for miniscule pieces of evidence. Except that the targeters, a term coined for the data analysts who work at the NTC, aren’t sifting through the sand of ancient tombs. Instead, NTC targeters are filtering through advance information on people and products looking for potential terrorists or terrorist weapons.The NTC was established in October 21, 2001 in direct response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Since then it has become the preeminent anti-terrorism facility in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Center has grown from 26 targeters to more than 46 and currently has more than 60 employees on site. It is a prime example of pushing our zone of security outward—keeping terrorism at arms length by screening people and cargo before they arrive at our shores. Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte NTC staff is now composed of personnel from various federal agencies. Information is the most powerful tool in our anti-terrorism efforts. With it we can determine what is high risk and what presents no threat at all. Information, and systems that allow us to distill and filter it, provide the mechanism for selectively determining level of risk.Automated Targeting System- filtering out terrorismOne tool the NTC uses to winnow through information is the Automated Targeting System (ATS.) Because of the 24-hour rule, CBP can obtain electronic information on all cargo shipped to the United States 24 hours before the cargo is loaded at foreign seaports. ATS processes this information and which allows the NTC to evaluate each and every one of the awaiting containers for terrorist risk before they are loaded and shipped to U.S. seaports. Advance information is also received on all incoming passengers. ATS processes information, picking up on anomalies and “red flags, ” and provides a basis for targeters to determine what cargo or passengers are “high risk,” whether they require scrutiny at the port of entry or overseas, or whether they can come to our shores at all. But as good as it is, ATS isn’t static. In the near future, ATS system enhancements will provide CBP the capability to identify potential high-risk passenger vehicles as well as the travelers they carry. The passenger targeting component of ATS will be upgraded so that it can access and analyze a greater amount of government data. On the cargo side, ATS capacity will be expanded through use of cutting edge information analysis technologies developed by CBP and the private sector. Communication between agencies with anti-terrorism intelligence is crucial. In this regard the NTC has become a model for integrating and sharing information necessary for security. The Center is a virtual coalition against terrorism with an expanded scope of information available and a network of inter-agency liaisons located at the NTC. Expanded capabilitiesThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Prior Notice Center is co-located at the NTC and has more than 25 permanent and temporary duty staff working in coordination with CBP to implement the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. The Act, in part, requires registration with FDA of all foreign food facilities that manufacture or process food for human or animal consumption in the United States. It also requires advance notice of any imported shipment of human or animal food. An ATS module winnows through information on food shipments coming into this country targeting shipments that require additional scrutiny. Increased inter-agency communicationNTC now has representatives on site from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Countererrorism Watch (CT Watch.) CT Watch is the central point within the FBI for gathering and managing domestic and international terrorism threats. CT Watch produces daily terrorism threat briefing materials and intelligence reports that are shared with the NTC and other members of the intelligence and law enforcement communities. NTC targeters who see a possible match, alert CT Watch personnel. If a match is confirmed, the FBI coordinates a response and determines action to be taken with the appropriate Joint Terrorism Task Force. A critical coordination point that has been added to the NTC is the liaison with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA.) TSA updates and maintains a watch list of travelers better known as the “no-fly” list. This list is designed to deny persons who are threat to civil aviation or the homeland access to commercial airline flights. Currently, all terrorist lookouts are coordinated through the NTC including coordination with the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center. In addition, the Federal Air Marshals have staff at the NTC. They use information developed by the NTC to determine if they need to put resources on a specific flight. Air travel isn’t the only area where coordination and communication has been enhanced. The Coast Guard is tasked with protecting waters within a 12-mile limit of our coast and is also represented at the NTC. Using NTC capabilities to screen crew, vessel, and cargo information, the Coast Guard determines high-interest vessels and crewmembers of interest and can prioritize its boarding efforts. Moving the zone of security farther outIn the future, screening and targeting will take place hundreds and thousands of miles from our borders. For example, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) is a program that allows for the screening of containers that pose a risk for terrorism by teams of CBP officials that work in foreign ports in concert with their host nation counterparts. As part of CSI, the NTC is participating in a prototype program with the government of New Zealand to target shipments prior to their lading. The shipment is examined in New Zealand using non-intrusive inspection technology. Using imaging software, the images of the examination are relayed to the NTC and personnel in New Zealand and at the NTC decide jointly if there are any anomalies. Other advance screening initiativesNTC is also playing a critical role in programs such as the Immigration Advisory Program (IAP.) Under IAP, teams of CBP employees examine the travel documents of foreign nationals in their home foreign ports prior to their departure. An IAP program officer working at the NTC reviews advance information on travelers forwarded by the IAP teams and targets passengers that may present a risk or warrant more intensive examination. Passengers whose travel documents are invalid, expired or otherwise may have been altered, counterfeited or obtained through fraud are advised, as is the airline, before they leave their foreign location that they will likely be deemed inadmissible and denied entry upon arrival in the U.S. Currently we have IAP agreements with Poland and the Netherlands with plans to expand to three additional locations this year. Projections are to have IAP teams operational in a total of 50 foreign airports by 2008. The NTC has been and will increasingly be at the heart of CBP’s anti-terrorism efforts. As increasing amounts of information are developed, the NTC’s role as coordinator and facilitator of information exchange will be critical to the Department of Homeland Security and to our national security. LK

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